Is Wonder Woman a difficult character?

[kingmyth]

She does not get the attention that Superman and Batman get for movies and TV shows.

Why is it so hard to give Wonder Woman a new Live action TV show, Theatrical movies, and cartoons.

[Nipower888]

She does not get the attention that Superman and Batman get for movies and TV shows.

Why is it so hard to give Wonder Woman a new Live action TV show, Theatrical movies, and cartoons.

Maybe it's that she's a female and executives don't think females can sell.

[Triple J]

It's much more than that - getting the character right...depicting in the 'right' way (WW fans don't really agree on which is right). Her character is complex. So, yeah. Lot of other factors go into it.

[AmiMizuno]

Batman and Superman are also hard characters. I think it's more on the fact they have to find a place of warrior and peace make. They have to show she is a feminist and not have it always shoved in people's faces.

[Nite-Wing]

because she's not that popular and unless it was of extremely high quality its not worth it
see the recent wonder woman pilot that got canned

[anarki]

The answer is yes,
for batgirl,harley,you don't have to get everything right,just make them fun
batgirl is so different now,but still highly-praised,and sold well.
harley,one of DC's top seller.

[Black Angel]

Honestly yes and because she truly has no "classic" story for them to use it makes it harder to write a basis for her.

[JimRaynor55]

No. This question comes up time and time again and has basically become a fandom meme. Strangely it's asked far more often about female characters than it is for male characters.

Wonder Woman is only "hard" to write if you don't know anything about her and don't even try. Actually, you can even remove deep prior knowledge of the character because there's no reason you can't just hack out some acceptably standard superhero stories with her. You don't need a vast library of "classic" stories to draw from in order to make something new that ranges from decent to good either.

Look at Barry Allen. A Silver Age character whose entire characterization was clean-cut, mild-mannered, and flat out "boring." His power set is so broken and ridiculous that it virtually demands plot-induced stupidity. The character was seen as so limited and problematic that he was killed off in the Bronze Age right around the time when comic writing was leaping forward in quality. He missed out on the better part of three decades before finally being resurrected just a few short years ago. I've searched and searched for "classic" Barry Allen stories and honestly, there isn't much because the bulk of his issues were in the sixties and seventies. Yet DC is pushing him now because they have a few creators who actually give a crap about him. They gave "boring" Barry a freaking TV show. And it's actually good, because with a few tweaks his most salient traits aren't boring but rather geeky, upbeat, but vulnerable.

Caring about the character and portraying him or her in a positive way is all you need. The Flash TV show remembers to tick off on the old Barry trademarks (being geeky, ironically always being late), and honestly it leans hard on a lot of genre cliches almost lifted from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. The plot-induced stupidity is still there and present in almost every fight so far. But it's still fresh and enjoyable because the writers have added dimensions to the character while remembering what made him likable in the first place.

If you want a good Wonder Woman run, then just write Wonder Woman as a superhero. She's a nice person, a role model and an icon. Doesn't mean she can't have flaws or angst, just means that the story needs to be on her side. She doesn't need to be brought down a notch or taught not to hate men, or any of the anti-feminist BS that is occasionally suggested. Her Amazon background should be respected instead of dragged through the mud, like it has in the New 52 era.

I think Wonder Woman is a unique character who can be used to address a lot of important themes about feminism, generational change, and diversity, but I'm fine with it if the average comic book writer doesn't delve that far. Just avoid cleaning house by killing off or removing her entire supporting cast, and tarnishing key parts of her history and background.

[AmiMizuno]

because she's not that popular and unless it was of extremely high quality its not worth it
see the recent wonder woman pilot that got canned

You are joking right? 2009 movie was the hugest succes beating the other releases . Also she is the most regonizable female superhero in the world. She ranks top 5 of the greatest superheroes. So she is popular very popular. She is known all over the world. Many characters have been based on her and ripped off . Korean ripoff Wonder Woman. Also Wonder Woman inspired Sailor Moon. So I'm not sure what you mean by not popular when clearly even when you aren't a fan most will regonize her.the pilot failed because of writing not because it was wonder woman big differences

[ed2962]

The character is not "hard" at all, but it's hard to come up with at formula that's guaranteed to be a mega-hit which is what folks in other media especially films are looking for. The real question might be "How commercial is WW to a modern audience?"

[JimRaynor55]

Wonder Woman has huge commercial value because she's recognized the world over. My coworker who isn't a geek at all just said that her 4-year old daughter wants a Wonder Woman costume for Christmas.

The template is already there and it's the basic superhero movie. The "hero's journey." Or even the Marvel Studios formula. All you need is an origin story, talent on both sides of the camera, a sense of fun, and a willingness to appeal to a wide and diverse audience. Wonder Woman can fit these things. Anything unique to her should be treated as an advantage rather than shied away from the way a lot of people at DC have doing things.

My concern is that DC/WB will stick hard to their poorly thought out "Nolan" formula, darkening everything into a gritty and violent version that turns off children and female moviegoers (while lacking the actual talent and intelligence that Nolan brought to his Dark Knight Trilogy). Seems to me that too many people in power are afraid of the word "feminism," or have no understanding of Wonder Woman beyond the fact that she's a "warrior."

[JimRaynor55]

You are joking right? 2009 movie was the hugest succes beating the other releases

Yeah, the 2009 animated movie was actually a great seller compared to almost every one of the DVDs that have come out since. It's really unfortunate that DC perceived it as a failure by comparing it to the anomalously high sales of Superman: Doomsday.

I think he's talking about the 2011 live action TV pilot though. That didn't fail because Wonder Woman is hard to adapt, because they didn't even try to make a faithful adaptation. It failed because it was a lousy pilot.

[ed2962]

Wonder Woman has huge commercial value because she's recognized the world over. My coworker who isn't a geek at all just said that her 4-year old daughter wants a Wonder Woman costume for Christmas.

The template is already there and it's the basic superhero movie. The "hero's journey." Or even the Marvel Studios formula. All you need is an origin story, talent on both sides of the camera, a sense of fun, and a willingness to appeal to a wide and diverse audience. Wonder Woman can fit these things. Anything unique to her should be treated as an advantage rather than shied away from the way a lot of people at DC have doing things.

My concern is that DC/WB will stick hard to their poorly thought out "Nolan" formula, darkening everything into a gritty and violent version that turns off children and female moviegoers (while lacking the actual talent and intelligence that Nolan brought to his Dark Knight Trilogy). Seems to me that too many people in power are afraid of the word "feminism," or have no understanding of Wonder Woman beyond the fact that she's a "warrior."

Sure, but the Lone Ranger is known the world over and Johnny Depp is a recognized the world over yet that film was a flop. Will Smith and Tom Cruise are a couple of the biggest stars in Hollywood yet in the last couple of years both of them have had movies under perform using formulas that have brought them hits in the past. My point being that being well known is no guarantee of Hollywood success.

[ed2962]

Yeah, the 2009 animated movie was actually a great seller compared to almost every one of the DVDs that have come out since. It's really unfortunate that DC perceived it as a failure by comparing it to the anomalously high sales of Superman: Doomsday.

I think he's talking about the 2011 live action TV pilot though. That didn't fail because Wonder Woman is hard to adapt, because they didn't even try to make a faithful adaptation. It failed because it was a lousy pilot.

Can't argue with that. The David E Kelly thing was pretty terrible.

[Javier Velasco]

The character isn't difficult.

You just have to come at her with a clear point of view. As in the clip below.

http://youtu.be/xyKXBxK82LE

Whether you agree with this particular version of WW, it is pretty obvious that the writer didn't have a "hard" time writing her.